Becoming an assistant principal is a career milestone for many educators, representing a move from the classroom into a schoolwide leadership and administrative position. 

Qualifications 

   To become principal, you need a minimum of three years of teaching. You are then going to need to pass a test for educational leadership. Then you either get a leadership certificate, master’s degree in leadership, or a specialist degree from it.  

    Assistant Principal Ms. Ceballos has a specialist degree in leadership which is above a master’s degree. The estimated time for a specialist degree is about 1 year and a half. According to Ms. Ceballos, you then go into a program called Assistant Principal Bench and go to different schools and practice. This helps you confirm if you want to do this type of work. After practicing you will be interviewed, and then a school will choose you.  

Inspiration 

     The transition from teaching to school leadership is often driven by a desire for personal professional growth and a commitment to expanding one’s impact on the student body. Teachers often feel inspired to move into administration when they realize their potential to help more students beyond a single classroom.  

      Assistant principal Ms. Ceballos, says that when she was a high school English teacher she was already “helping out the administration” and “guiding the seniors through different aspects of senior life.”  

      It was her own students who recognized her leadership potential, urging her to pursue the career by telling her, “You really need to do this with other students, not just the students that you have.” This highlights that for many assistant principals, the inspiration to lead comes from a response to their community’s needs, shifting their focus from a single classroom to the entire school. 

The Years to Lead 

     The time it takes to move from the classroom to administration varies. Geometry teacher Mr. Lacayo reached the position of assistant principal in approximately three years. Ms. Ceballos taught for eighteen years before making the switch. Although she had finished her required schooling and testing a decade earlier, she stayed in the classroom because she did not feel ready to leave her students yet. These examples show that while some may promote quickly, others wait until they feel the time is right to grow professionally. 

Rewarding Path 

     According to the interviews with Mr. Lacayo and Ms. Ceballos, being an assistant principal is a complex role. Mr. Lacayo says that the career is a “good job” that is “rewarding but at the same time demanding and stressful.”  

     Ms. Ceballos agrees with this. She describes it as “very difficult” and says it is “one of the hardest things” to do outside of teaching. She clarifies that while the workload is a lot, the “work is just different” because it requires constant navigation between the interests of students, teachers, and parents.  

     Ms. Ceballos specifically categorizes this as “heart work” because an assistant principal must ensure teachers feel supported so that their happiness will “translate into the classroom.” She likes focusing on finding a “happy medium for everybody”. She aims to create a “a more pleasant experience” where everyone enjoys learning.